Drops of thoughts drifting out into the sea of cyberspace…

Patient sleeper

In my mother tongue, there is a saying “wait for fortune to come your way sleeping.” It is usually interpreted to have an equivalent meaning to the English proverb “good things come to those who wait.”

The term “fortune” originally referred to a Buddhist way of thinking that it is a consequence of karmic actions, i.e., how much fortune (or misfortune, for that matter) comes your way depends on what you have done in your past life… No wonder it tells you to wait sleeping, you’ve been put to sleep before any fortune can come your way!

Yeah, but if killing time was the aim, any other action could work just as well… say, reading or drinking. So this is probably not the reason.

Maybe because sleep implies a state of tiredness, perhaps from giving your best?

If you try hard and do everything you possibly can to get good results, you will most likely be exhausted and want to sleep. So it could be that the underlying meaning of the saying is to urge us to put full effort in what we do if we want good things to happen.

Maybe because sleep allows time to think about things, as in “sleeping on it”?

Psychological studies show that our brain is active even in our sleep, reminiscing over your feelings and thoughts and actions and consolidating memory. So it could be that the hidden message of the saying is to get us to think over our deeds to see whether we deserve fortune to come our way.

Maybe because sleep cannot be rushed and comes only when you are relaxed?

Going to sleep may well be a test of your patience. You cannot hurry it but let it come to you, and even when you cannot get enough of it you need to stay calm and not be annoyed. So it could be that the bottom line of the saying is, be patient and you will be satisfied in due time.

I got a good night’s sleep last night. And Eureka! I woke up this morning with a long-awaited satisfactory solution to my problem I mentioned yesterday. Diligence, careful thought and patience finally prevailed! Now, all I have to do is let it materialize… keep your fingers crossed for me!